Jim, the bigger untold story of another Argentine payment pass is it is going to cost more to borrow, on a geo-global basis. More risk = more cost..
The consumer confi numbers out this morn are funny, but they gave a nice pop...But really, consumers are drunk on easy money, so what else could those numbers reflect?
The Conference Board said on Tuesday its closely watched index of consumer confidence reached its highest level since August, rallying to 110.2, far outpacing analysts' forecasts of a rise to 98.8. The February reading was revised up to 95.0 from 94.1.
``It now puts us at levels associated with good growth going ahead so it should translate into a pickup in spending,'' Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Group told Reuters. ``We're in an area more indicative of healthy economic growth.''
The Present Situation Index, which measures Americans' views of the economy right now, posted its largest one-month gain in 25 years, reaching 111.5 in March, up from 96.4. The Expectations Index, a gauge of consumers' six-month outlook, also rallied, to 109.3 in March from 94.0 in February.
``The next step to draw here is that it's likely to lead more spending and reinforce the good numbers we've seen. It's clearly saying we're out of recession and the recovery is underway.'' |
